NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander stops communicating

Mission deemed a full success

After five busy months, NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has tasted its last morsel of Martian soil and viewed its last Martian landscape. Engineers announced in a November 10 teleconference that the mission is, for all intents and purposes, finished.

The waning Martian day and an inopportune dust storm starved the lander’s solar arrays of sunlight. Without the requisite solar power, the robot ceased to function.

Engineers last made contact with Phoenix on November 2. Despite scientists' regular attempts to reconnect at two-hour intervals, the lander has remained silent. Engineers say they will attempt to contact the robot for several more weeks, but they don’t hold out much hope.

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